What is SIV

Significant Investor Visa

The Significant Investor Visa (SIV) (also known as the 188C/888C visa) is regarded by many as the premium Australian investment visa program. There is no upper age limit, no innovation points test, no English language requirement and, importantly, for those who have been granted a provisional 188C visa, there are reduced residency requirements.

The Benefits

The benefits of the Australian SIV include the security of an unrestricted initial stay in the country of up to 8 years for yourself and your family (4 years of 188C provisional visa with up to 2 extensions of two years each). Importantly, the SIV extends automatically to your immediate family as well as those relatives who are financially dependent on you – which means you can potentially bring your whole family to Australia to live and work.

You also have the option of becoming a permanent resident of Australia, if you wish, after a 4-year period.

You and your family enjoy the benefits of unrestricted study and work within Australia, as well as the ability to travel to and from the country without immigration restrictions.

The Requirements

For those in a position to access the SIV, the requirements are easy to understand.

As an SIV applicant, you must first obtain sponsorship from one of the Australian states or territories or from Austrade (Australian Trade Commission).

Upon receiving sponsorship, you may then lodge an application for the SIV.

Once the application has been approved, the Australian Government requires an investment of AUD$5 million into a complying investment or investments (which our Sumo SIV team can help you to identify) for a period of 4 years. You must also pass both health and police checks.

Australia is a superb place to invest with a strong and stable regulatory environment.

Keeping Your Family Together

One of the most sought-after features of the SIV is the ability to keep your entire family unit together. A member of your family unit can be included as part of your application and apply for a secondary visa that is linked to your SIV application.

An eligible family member may be:

Your husband, wife or de facto (long-term) partner.

Your children who are dependent on you.

A child who is dependent on your (dependent) son or daughter (your grandchild).

Any other relative who usually lives with you and is wholly or substantially financially dependent on yourself.

Permanent Visa

Once you have been part of the SIV program and held the provisional 188C visa for 4 years, you have the option to apply for a permanent visa, which is a Subclass 888 Visa (also known as the 888C visa).

In order to qualify for a permanent 888C visa you must:

Be nominated by the Government of an Australian state or territory, and for applications lodged after 1 July 2015, Austrade is an alternative nominating entity;

Have held the 188C visa for at least 4 years;

Have satisfied all of the investment conditions in a continuous manner for at least 4 years;

Have met the residency requirements (see below).

The residency requirements are simple: over the 4-year period, you (the primary visa applicant) must have lived in Australia for at least 160 days, or just over a month each year. These days do not have to be continuous in order to qualify, and can be divided up in whichever way suits you and your family. For example, you may choose to spend 40 days of your holiday time each year as a family in Australia, and that would allow you to meet the residency requirements after a 4-year period.

Alternatively, your husband, wife, or de facto (long term) partner who is the secondary applicant can reside in Australia for a total of 720 days over the four years in order to make you (the primary visa applicant) eligible for the Subclass 888 Visa. Again, these days do not have to be continuous.

To find out more about the investment conditions and complying investments, please see:

Our Role

Our role at Sumo SIV is to guide you through the application and complying investment process so that you and your family can begin enjoying the benefits of the Australian community, lifestyle, healthy living and educational options for your children as soon as possible.

We look forward to partnering with you to begin the process of obtaining an SIV for you and your family, and welcome your contact by phone or email.